Two Days in York

Derek and I bid farewell to Edinburgh last week for two days and one night as we caught the train down to York. Again we had lovely weather, cool but clear, a relatively uneventful train ride (although getting the tickets without the booking confirmation number was a bit of a hastle) during which we had a good chuckle about the large number of posters for STD screenings and birth control at Newcastle's station (and nowhere else) and I quietly vowed to throw a kid's DS off the train at the next stop if he didn't quit playing the same BrainAge game over and over again with the volume on full blast, and then we found ourselves stepping out of York's station and faced with the city's walls.

After checking into a lovely B&B (Ashley House, if you're looking for a place to stay) and organizing our backpacks, we headed off to find a nice spot for a picnic. We ended up in the Museum's gardens, which were very nice and in close proximity to the ruins of the St. Mary's monastery. From there we headed to York Minster, where again I was blown away by its size and beauty. Its the largest medieval minster in the UK, and its lovely. I liked how few people there were in it, and that we were free to roam around in whatever direction we pleased and wherever we liked. This is in stark contrast to our visit to Westminster Abbey in London, which was packed with tourists and had ropes and barriers restricting the flow of people through the minster. Sections of York Minster, including the Chapter House and one of the main windows, are under extensive reconstruction. They've actually hung a massive banner the height of the minster with a full-scale illustration of what the window will look like when it is refurbished.

After the minster we headed over to Jorvik Viking Centre for a ride back in time. Although over much too fast, the centre provides a really neat reconstruction of what York would have looked, sounded and smelled like in the late 9th - early 10th centuries. They've even utilized the skulls found in the area, using computer-aided reconstructions to put real faces on the mannequins in this underground village. I could have done without the rather silly time machine at the start of the visit, but it was a good time and a neat experience.

After dinner we wandered around the old town in the twilight, through the Shambles (a great street which I love, where the buildings jut out above you in a haphazard and unique way) and down along Stonegate where we found some exciting stores to visit the next day, including The Cat Gallery, where I was in love. I'm very happy they have a website and catalogue :) The area at night was very quiet and peaceful, as most of the tourists were probably still having dinner, and then suddenly the streets were flooded with locals. I was happy to find a blue-raspberry slushee (I'd really burnt my tongue on my lasagne at dinner) for only 95p, which was a great end to the day.

Day two we got up early and headed down for breakfast. The B&B has 5 rooms but only 3 were occupied, so it was a quiet breakfast room. I had an yummy breakfast of french toast with blueberries, topped with honey and a dollop of yogurt. Derek had the house breakfast, basically a full English without the beans, and it looked good. Then we checked out and headed off to Exhibition Square to take the 10:15 walking tour of York, a free tour guided by volunteers. Our group consisted of 3 Chinese girls about my age, one girl from Holland, an American couple in their late-30s, 2 Canadian couples from B.C. in their 50s or 60s, and us.

Our tour guide was great. She called her tour the Romans, Vikings, Churches and Chocolate tour -- just perfect for me. It ran long, lasting about 2.5 hours, and took us around the city centre, along Roman walls and by Roman coffins, into the courtyard of what was once the King's manor when visiting but is now home to the university's archeology dept., along sections of York's almost complete and amazingly preserved city walls, and into a great old church that continues to function without electricity and has kept its stall seating (rather than converting in Victorian times to the familiar benches or pews). We also learned that monkeys had lived in a section of forest in York for about 150 years, the result of sailors bringing them back from journeys, and as they got too rambunctious or large for the home they were set free into the woods.

After lunch we headed back to the train station to collect our tickets for the evening, then took a rediculously roundabout route to the National Railway Museum which was practically next door (my fault, but neither of us had seen the signs inside the station pointing out the shortcut). The museum was huge, which I suppose it has to be to accommodate and display so many trains. We saw a high-speed Japanese commuter train, a to-scale cross-section model of the Chunnel, several royal trains from the 19th and 20th centuries, and a really neat steam engine which has been cut into from the side and fully labelled so that you can get an understanding of how it works. We also walked under a train car, which was pretty neat. I also checked out the Thomas the Talk Engine store, but unfortunately couldn't find the right gift for my little brother.

After a dinner of pizza (chosen for the ease of eating leftovers on the train), we hopped on the 7:53pm train and got into Edinburgh Waverly around 10:30. Tired from the long day and so much walking, we were happy to be home. I don't know if we could have managed a 3rd day at that pace, but we saw everything I had wanted to and more, and I came back happy and content.

Tuesday in Stirling

On Tuesday we hopped on a train to Stirling (about 45 minutes away) for a day out. The weather was beautiful and sunny, just like it has been for most of the week. Our first stop was the National Wallace Monument, without realising just how long a walk we were embarking on. I knew it was just out of town, and we could see it from downtown. We just had no idea how big it is, and therefore that it was a lot farther away than it appeared. It took over an hour to walk there, and then once at the foot of the hill on which it sits we walked up the forest path to the base of the monument.

The monument itself was a beautiful stone Victorian structure dedicated to the memory and legend of William Wallace. Opting not to climb it (we'd already walked a long way!), we walked all around the base, admired the views of the countryside, the hills of the highlands in the not-so-far distance, and the town. Included in our view was Stirling Castle, sitting high above the city and reminding us how far it was back to town and our next stop. We ate lunch at the poorly marked picnic area to the side of the monument (the 'Picnic Area' sign had been turned around 180 degrees so that it pointed over the edge of the cliff), and it was this peaceful lunch that was my favourite part of the day.

On the way back to town we opted for public transport, and the ride on the bus lasted only a few minutes. We wanted to get a better look at Stirling Bridge, which we had crossed earlier, and to do this we climbed a hill path up to a couple cannons and 'The Beheading Stone'. From here we took a different path, walked along an alleyway, and winded our way up the side of the castle's hill up to the entrance of the castle.

Stirling Castle has an amazing history. I actually think it's history and architecture is more interesting than Edinburgh's. Stirling is considered the gateway to the highlands, so its strategic importance has been known and fought over for centuries as the English kings fought the Scottish monarchs for control. There's lots of buildings to see, including the large hall which has been completely restored, and even painted in the colour of gold that the entire castle would have been painted in the medieval period. There were also several beautiful tapestries hanging in the hall, and more are being made (they each take 4 years to make in the traditional manner) to replace the original ones which are now housed in NY. Unfortunately, one of the main buildings is currently under refurbishment, but hopefully it'll be open again to the public within the next two years.

We decided to get a joint membership to Historic Scotland, which gives us free access to castles and sites all over Scotland, and 50% off historic sites in England and Wales. This means we can now pop up to Edinburgh Castle whenever we want :) I hope to make good use of our membership over the next year or two!

Adaptation

Derek and I arrived in Edinburgh a year ago today. It's hard to believe how things have changed, how much more stuff we've accumulated, how much better we know our surroundings, how our school lives (and social lives) have developed in such a short time. Before we moved here I was sure that coming to Edinburgh was going to be the right thing to do, and luckily I still believe that.

It's only been in the last week or so that thoughts of 'What am I doing? Why did we come here? What's the point?' pop up in my head, most likely the result of some difficult and emotional stimuli encroaching upon my generally happy mindset. Asking around, it seems like I'm the odd one out to have only had these thoughts recently, and with the knowledge that I've successfully passed my first year (the probationary period) and have been accepted as a full-fledged PhD-2, I'm feeling quite encouraged and excited about my forthcoming research and adventures. Derek and I are actually heading out on our first UK roadtrip on Monday and heading north to the highlands, so stay tuned for more on that.

I think to acknowledge the passing of a great, unique and often surprising year here in Edinburgh, and having already relived our first few days in my Six Month Review post in March, I'll try to assess some of the changes that have taken place in our lives over these crazy 12 months. Could be a bit difficult from such an insider position (little chance of me being objective I suppose), but I'll put my historical research training to the test and see what I can come up with.

Food

I remember that in the summer before coming here Derek mentioned once that he was quite excited about the food, what was going to be available, what he'd be able to cook once we're here (for those of you who don't know us that well, Derek's the cook in our house, although I do love to bake goodies). In contrast, I was worried about the food. I'm a bit of a picky eater, and once I've established my favourite things, I'd be happy to only have those things I know I like.

Our meals have definitely changed. Bangers and mash pops up about once a week, and I'm a big fan of the toad in the hole Derek makes. Vegetarian haggis is a favourite of both of ours (we just had it tonight actually, with steamed veg and spicy chips). There's more variety in cheeses, and Derek gets his stewing beef from a local butcher. The bulk of our groceries are delivered to our door every Tuesday between 10 and noon via ASDA's (UK's Walmart) delivery service. For about 30p more than a roundtrip bus ticket to get to a full-sized grocery store they delivery groceries (incl. beer and wine) to your door (and up flights of stairs to your flat). Its an awesome service and I'm a bit surprised a similar system hasn't caught on back home.

My favourite meal for a special occasion is Marks & Spencers' chinese food, particularly their lemon chicken and their ribs. We rarely go out for a meal, as dinner prices are so expensive (£12 for an entree? I don't think so). There's some great lunch deals around, particularly for buffets. Jimmy Chung's is our favourite chinese buffet, and just last week we tried Indian for the first time at the Red Fort, and as it was buffet-style we could sample small amounts of all the dishes to figure out what we liked.

Clothing

When I mentioned to Derek that I was going to include clothing in the blog he just looked at me half-smiling and then looked down at his clothes. He does have a point -- the bulk of his clothing is straight from Waterloo, but he has accumulated a smart interview outfit and a couple nice M&S jumpers (sweaters). But what he forgets is that a year ago he didn't have his M&S days-of-the-week socks which quickly became a staple of his look. When the Thursday socks starting showing their weakness by developing holes much sooner than the others, he couldn't bear to part with them. Luckily for his birthday last week he got a whole new set (although unfortunately the new ones are new colours...). And I can't forget Derek's ultimate Scottish accessory (no, not the kilt, although I think that'll come), his Scottish hat. Which I love, and which I think suits him very nicely.

For me, my clothing style has changed a bit I'd say. First, I've had to adapt to UK sizing: clothing is four sizes larger (its quite depressing), shoes are a size smaller, and bra sizes are a letter larger. I wear skirts more often thanks to the fashion of wearing leggings or opaque tights year round here. My Uggs, a lovely Christmas present from Derek's mum, are the perfect year-round accessory to the short skirt and leggings or patterned tights look around campus, and that's what I was wearing today actually. Yes, I actually own patterned tights, and tights in different colours, and black leggings, and now lilac leggings.

I still shop at some of the same places, like La Senza for pajamas and H&M for cheap but nice clothes (with normal/US sizing), and my latest pair of trainers (sneakers) are my standard Adidas ones, although in gorgeous watermelon colours. I also bought a pair of tight jeans, which are great for wearing with high boots, but I always wear a long top or sweater with them. I've also bought a couple short black and navy dresses from H&M which I wear as tops over jeans. I haven't gotten into the scarf look that's popular here, but I did buy some pink wellies last week to help get me through another rainy winter.

Shelter

Well, to put it bluntly, we're paying more rent for a smaller flat (apartment) than we had back home. The fridge is so small it fits under the counter, and there's a bar-fridge-sized freezer in the closet. The water pressure in the shower is so bad I've permanently switched to baths, and we have to switch the power to our tv off at the mains (the outlet) every night due to the Scotland-wide risk of fire. Our washer dryer is convenient to have in the kitchen (standard here), but it doesn't actually dry. It just spins -- no heat or anything. The windows don't have screens so bugs can fly in, but that actually doesn't happen very often. And the mattress is a UK double -- much smaller than the queen we had back home. But we've adapted.

Being able to turn off the power at the mains is actually really handy to keep from wasting electricity. We have beautiful wooden floors and some decent furniture. Its not the decor we'd choose, but with a few throws it much more like home. Having a dishwasher is awesome. And how can I complain about the constant street noise in the living room when I look up from my computer to see Edinburgh Castle a block away, towering over everything. Yes, there's lots of drunk men and women walking down to Grassmarket's bars and up to Tollcross' strip clubs, but the costumes of the stag dos and hen nights are a great sight, and when the tour buses pause in front of our window we catch bits of information about the neighbourhood (plus we can watch the tourists' heads float by the window sill).

Life

Well, most of my days are spent in the library reading and writing history, looking up historians' points of view, comparing their findings to what I'm reading in the parliamentary papers, and developing the framework for my thesis. But this only comprises part of my day, and in the summer there was a whole lot more daylight to fill (from 4:30am to 10pm some days!). And we can't forget that when we returned to Edinburgh at the beginning of June Derek was no longer a student, so he has been balancing his time and energy between job searching, applications and interviews, and developing flash computer games which altogether have been played over 18500 times so far, and have made him a bit of pocket money.

Drawing on this summer as my sample, we found ourselves with busier social lives than we've ever had. There are probably several reasons for this. One is that back home, with the exception of two or three very close friends of mine who I see individually, Derek and I share a single circle of friends with relationships and connections that go back years (over a decade for some). And so, if the group was doing something that night, we'd have something to do, and if they weren't, or if only some of them were getting together, then we didn't.

Here I find myself with three distinct circles of friends, with a fourth possible circle building as I get to know my Edinburgh best friend's boyfriend and integrating Derek into the relationship as well. One group is made up of girls from my year and program and their friends. Another is made up of friendships which developed during the history trip to The Burn that I blogged about in February, in which I predicted that a few of those friendships would last. Through them I starting meeting other MSc students who met every Thursday for drinks or games or dancing... it was great, and I hope the few of us who are left can continue it this year.

A third circle grew out of our old living quarters with the other two couples in our university-owned townhouse. The first two involve a majority of international students, and I think that as university students we've realised that we have to get out and meet new people because everyone is new to us, and otherwise you won't know anybody. And so this summer we found ourselves attending Thursday night socials, hosting a flat-warming party and Derek's surprise birthday party, attending festival shows with friends, drinking beer in the Meadows at the dissertation celebration, learning the lindy hop with a bunch of historians (with an excess of willing guys!), saying goodbye to friends who were heading home, and going to our first sushi party. We're also managers of a fantasy premier league football club, but all I'll say about that is that we're no longer in last place in our mini-league of historians.

I've had countless cups of hot chocolate and one-on-one conversations in coffee shops and sitting on the grass that lasted for hours. I've learned about different cultures from friends who are based around the world, and now we've got couches to sleep on in a growing number of countries as we travel. I've sung Wannabe with a group of girls in a traditional Scottish pub at their karaoke night. I helped a few friends edit school and award applications, introductions, and in one case, a dissertation, because I enjoy it and its good practice for what I want to do in the future. And I still managed to write my first 11000 words, and put together another 10000 in quotations for my next chapter. Its been a crazy busy summer and an unbelievable year. Here's hoping the next twelve months will be as magical.

Wild Weekend

I mistakenly thought that with the end of the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, the craziness that has enveloped us here would end. But I was wrong. If anything life seems busier and more frantic than in August as I juggle coffee with friends, shopping trips in and out of town, meetings with professors as the new school year starts up, preparing for a new year of tutoring British History One (the same course I tutored last year), and fitting in my own studies.

There's also been a number of changes that have occurred in the past few weeks as good friends have moved home to other parts of the country, and across the sea or the ocean, having finished up their Masters degrees. I'm starting to appreciate how difficult it may have been for the friends I made back at Western when I was working on my MA, just to disappear after handing in my dissertation on August 1st. I made good friends who were in the Masters programme here, and while its difficult to see some of them leave, I know email and facebook will help us keep in touch, and that we'll now have friends around the world to meet up with on our travels. All the more reason to do some more traveling! Luckily, a bunch of the Masters students have taken up PhD positions here, so I'll be stuck with some of them for a few years yet.

On Friday I took the train to Glasgow with one of my closest friends for a day of shopping. We had decided a couple weeks earlier that we were going to need to treat ourselves after the stress of First Year Review preparations and the emotions that come with friends leaving and being away from our families, and there's some excellent shopping to be found in Glasgow. Of course, the best shopping comes with having extra money to spend, which we don't, but we did get some excellent bargains at Primark, the massive clothing store with crazy-low prices. For example, I bought leggings for 90p and slipper socks for £2. I also found a lovely pair of quilted pink wellies because with the way it's been pouring in Edinburgh in the mornings, I'm going to need them!

Sunday night was the Bank of Scotland's fireworks concert which marks the end of the Edinburgh Festival. I hadn't heard about it, but yellow signs started popping up along the streets on my way to school warning of the traffic diversions on Sunday evening. Derek was ill so he stayed bundled up inside to watch the highest fireworks shot from the castle, but I went out with a friend and her boyfriend, and he drove us to Inverleith Park, which is about 20-25 minutes north with a beautiful view of the castle. There were also speakers which played the music from the concert in Princes Street gardens (there was a live performance with an orchestra and choir performing Handel's works), so that the 100 000 fireworks still appeared to explode in time with the music regardless of us being so far away.

It's the largest performance of its kind in Europe, and it was spectacular. At times the fireworks were so bright that my camera couldn't handle the image, which is no small feat considering how far away we were from the site. I had to resist singing along to the Hallelujah Chorus which capped off the evening. Having sung it so often in high school as part of our massive choir, the Bluevale Singers, I think its permanently engraved in my mind. It was a really magical sight, and I'm looking forward to going again next year with Derek beside me.